Industry and manufacturing · Cooling
Cooling in industry and manufacturing: what the SRI measures
Cooling mirrors heating: control per room, prevent heating and cooling from fighting each other, store cold when electricity is cheap, and let the chiller follow actual demand.
In short
- 1This page shows how the Smart Readiness Indicator assesses cooling in industrial and production buildings.
- 2The Cooling domain carries significant weight here: 2 of the 3 weighting points for this building type.
- 3In industry, the assessment looks only at the building and its installations, not at the production process itself.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling emission control C-1a · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Individual room control with communication and occupancy detection | level 2 or higher |
| Emission control for TABS (cooling mode) C-1b · 4 levels | No automatic control | Advanced central automatic control with intermittent operation and/or room temperature feedback control | – |
| Control of distribution network chilled water temperature (supply or return) C-1c · 3 levels | Constant temperature control | Demand based control | – |
| Control of distribution pumps in networks C-1d · 5 levels | No automatic control | Variable speed pump control (external demand signal) | – |
| Interlock: avoiding simultaneous heating and cooling in the same room C-1f · 3 levels | No interlock | Total interlock (control system ensures no simultaneous heating and cooling can take place) | – |
| Control of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) operation C-1g · 4 levels | Continuous storage operation | Cold storage capable of flexible control through grid signals (e.g. DSM) | – |
| Generator control for cooling C-2a · A · 4 levels | On/Off-control of cooling production | Variable control of cooling production capacity depending on the load AND external signals from grid | level 2 or higher |
| Sequencing of different cooling generators C-2b · 5 levels | Priorities only based on running times | Sequencing based on dynamic priority list, including external signals from grid | – |
| Report information regarding cooling system performance C-3 · A · 5 levels | None | Central or remote reporting of performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | level 2 or higher |
| Flexibility and grid interaction C-4 · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Optimized control of cooling system based on local predictions and grid signals (e.g. through model predictive control) | level 2 or higher |
Worked example
If everything in this domain is at level 0, the domain contributes nothing. At the highest level for all services, the indicative total score for this building type rises by about 17 percentage points (from 30 to 47 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does cooling carry such weight in industrial and production buildings?
The Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) measures how well a building is prepared for smart, energy-efficient technology. In industrial and production buildings, the Cooling domain accounts for 2 of the 3 weighting points. This is because cooling demand in this building type is often large and continuous, independent of the production process.
It is important to note that the SRI here assesses only the building and its installations. The production process itself falls outside the measurement. Waste heat, monitoring and flexibility form the connection points between process and building.
Which smart-ready services fall under cooling?
The Cooling domain comprises multiple smart-ready services. Each service has functionality levels from 0 to 4, where a higher level means more automation and communication.
- Cooling output control: from no automatic control to individual room control with occupancy detection.
- Chiller control: from simple on/off control to variable control that also responds to external grid signals.
- Interlock: prevents heating and cooling in the same room from working against each other.
- Thermal energy storage: storing cold when power is cheap, up to storage suitable for demand response.
- Flexibility and grid interaction: allowing the cooling system to align with grid signals and forecasts.
Performance reporting, sequencing of multiple chillers and distribution pump control also belong to this domain.
What does this mean for a building owner in practice?
Industrial buildings often already have energy management for the production process. However, that system does not automatically measure building-related cooling that the SRI assesses.
Large grid connections make flexibility financially attractive. Cold storage and demand response via grid signals can then deliver direct savings, alongside a better SRI score.
When does this become relevant for mandatory compliance?
The SRI is currently voluntary. For utility buildings with installation capacity above 290 kilowatts, which is often the case in industry and production, the SRI is expected to become mandatory through a delegated act that the European Commission must adopt by 30 June 2027.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Map the cooling installation according to the smart-ready services mentioned and determine the current functionality level for each service. Because cooling carries significant weight here, improvements in this domain typically deliver the largest gain for the overall SRI score.
- Tenant
- A tenant in an industrial building will notice better cooling control mainly through a more stable indoor temperature and less unnecessary energy consumption. At higher levels, such as cold storage or grid-controlled cooling, this can also mean lower shared energy costs.
- Advisor
- In your assessment, pay attention to the distinction between process and building: only building-related cooling installations count, not process cooling. Verify whether existing energy management systems actually control the building installations, as this determines the functionality level for each service.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?